46 Sensation of the Party
"Good evening gentlemen," Okami System greeted the group. "Tanabata Matsuri Destiny's 1st Masquerade Ball is closed. We hope you had fun. The 'Masquerade Ball' Mission is also closed. The Prize, for all winners who reach at least 5 pearls in this event, is an Equipable Card: A GENTLEMAN. The Prize for achieving at least 8 pearls, is the Equipable Card: SENSATION OF THE PARTY. The Maximum Prize, for the winners who completed all missions and got the highest score, is the Equipable Card: UNFORGETTABLE PRESENCE."
Haruki had his curiosity piqued.
"None of the participants completed all the missions," continued the System, taking a brief break for the next line.
The singer had not seen all the secret missions, but he was secretly pleased to know that no one had managed to complete them all. This meant that he, who struggled and danced with Miyu and gave her a lot of attention, would probably be the winner.
"The winners of the 'A GENTLEMAN' equippable card are…" There was a momentary pause before the names, "Honda Satoru-san and Miyake Takao-san. Congratulations."
The android paused, and rising an octave in her tone announced,
"And the second prize winner, the Equippable Card 'SENSATION OF THE PARTY' is Kawanami Yuuto-san. Congratulations."
"WOW, HUHUHU," Hinata screamed with happiness and performed a ridiculous dance, throwing his mask up.
The general scoreboard was on the screen, next to Okami System's face. Haruki thought how it was possible to get a grudge toward an android. But it was a fact, he hated that android.
...
MASQUERADE BALL MISSION BALLSCORE
*FINAL*
1 place: Kawanami Yuto (Student): 9 pearls
2 place: Miyake Takao (Athlete): 7 pearls
3 place: Honda Satoru (Nerd): 6 pearls
4 place: Maeda Riku (Artist): 4 pearls
4 place: Nishimura Koichi (CEO): 4 pearls
4 place: Sugahara Kai (Bad boy): 4 pearls
...
EVENT: MASQUERADE BALL
Mini missions: 7
Missions unlocked: 3
Secret missions: 4
...
MISSION UNLOCKED 1/7: ELEGANCE
Minimum required: CHARISMA 60%
Bonus for CHARISMA + 25% above the requirement: double pearls for the mission
Rewards: 1 pearl | 1% bonus in CHARISMA | 0 player rewards | 80 diamonds
Completed by: Kawanami, Miyake, Honda, Sugahara, Nishimura, Maeda
------
MISSION UNLOCKED 2/7: DANCE WITH PRINCESS NIKO SAWADA
Minimum required: CHARISMA 60% | DEXTERITY 60%
Repeat bonus: 10 diamonds per dance
Rewards: 1 pearl | 2% bonus in CHARISMA | 0 player rewards | 150 diamonds
Completed by: Miyake (2x), Honda
------
MISSION UNLOCKED 3/7: DISCOVER SOMETHING PRINCESS NIKO SAWADA LIKES
Minimum required: CHARISMA 60% | INTELLIGENCE 60%
Repetition bonus: 5 diamonds per item
Rewards: 1 pearl | 0% bonus in CHARISMA | 0 player rewards | 50 diamonds
Completed by: Miyake (2x), Kawanami (3x)
------
SECRET MISSION 4/7: GET 1 HEART FROM PRINCESS NIKO SAWADA
Minimum required: N / A
Repeat bonus: N / A
Rewards: 3 pearls | 2% bonus in CHARISMA | 2% CHARISM player rewards | 200 diamonds
Completed by: Kawanami, Miyake, Honda, Sugahara, Nishimura, Maeda
------
SECRET MISSION 5/7: STAY 10 MINUTES ALONE WITH PRINCESS NIKO SAWADA
Minimum required: INTELLIGENCE 70% | CHARISMA 70%
Repeat bonus: N / A
Rewards: 2 pearls | 0% bonus in CHARISMA | 0 player rewards | 50 diamonds
Completed by: Kawanami
------
SECRET MISSION 6/7: KEEP COMFORTABLE PRINCESS NIKO SAWADA
Minimum required: INTELLIGENCE 70%
Repeat bonus: N / A
Rewards: 1 pearl | 1% bonus in CHARISMA | 0 player rewards | 150 diamonds
Completed by: Kawanami
------
SECRET MISSION 7/7: LASTING SOUVENIR
Minimum required: INTELLIGENCE 65%
Repeat bonus: N / A
Rewards: 1 pearl | 1% bonus in CHARISMA | 0 player rewards | 100 diamonds
Completed by: Kawanami, Miyake, Honda,
****
Leaving aside the tag, Haruki finally looked at his smartwatch, discovering that although he did all the missions, including the secret ones, he had not scored for not having the minimum criteria.
"It's cheating! This is ridiculous! I completed all the missions!" The singer's competing side couldn't swallow the dirty game the developers were playing against him. And Haruki continued to complain, this time pointing his finger at the screen,
"It's wrong. I did all the missions. You didn't count my score..."
"Haruki-san, stop. Please." Takashi asked in a low but audible voice. "Don't let Hinata-kun hear you. He was downcast, and it's good to see him shine at least once. He had merits, and he won fairly. I help you understand the game's rules."
The artist calmed him down a little with his sweet voice and his objective arguments.
"Hey Haruki, don't be a terrible loser, man." Daisuke sneered, lecturing Haruki. The singer's blood boiled at his words,
"I am not a terrible loser. The fact is that I completed all the missions."
"Hinata-kun follows Abe Miyu in her channels. Knowing her a little gave him an advantage. Don't pay so much attention to this," Saito also interfered, insisting that he should stop.
With all this uproar, Hinata couldn't hide he was listening to Haruki's protest. The senior student came up to him and patted him on the back,
"How bad, isn't it senpai?! You would probably have won the Mission, if you weren't locked in the bathroom with diarrhea," Hinata lamented, nodding condescendingly and his chest puffed. Haruki knew he was being pathetic, and even his junior was patronizing him.
As he walked away, the student fiddled with his smartwatch,
"Ohh! Ohh! My card is exclusive, no one else can have it! " Hinata exclaimed aloud, looking at the screen.
Haruki could already die. He was envying his younger brother!
The singer stepped away from them a bit, and went to look at his device to see what the senior student's profile looked like. Or he would die of curiosity.
Hinata had natural status of Charisma 70%, Intelligence 70% and Dexterity 50%. He had the minimum Intelligence requirements that some missions required, which Haruki didn't have. 'HOW CAN IT BE?!'
Haruki felt bad for being so envious and spiteful, because of a silly competition, he just couldn't help it. He knew himself, he would have to work a little on that in his mind. A few numbers on a screen had exacerbated his competitive side.
The second prize was an exclusive piece of equipment: the card 'SENSATION OF THE PARTY'. Hinata had even already equipped it on his system.
And this card, when clicked, had the following information:
…
[THE SENSATION OF THE PARTY:]
TYPE: Skill Card, Equippable
BONUS: 5% in CHARISMA when equipped (OR 7% when using Black Tie)
RARITY: Rare, Exclusive.
...
"ARGHHH! Does it mean you can only have one in the game? Hmmm. But 5% at CHARISMA is not a big deal."
He checked his prize:
...
[A GENTLEMAN:]
TYPE: Skill Card, Equippable
BONUS: 2% in CHARISMA when equipped (OR 3% when using Black Tie)
RARITY: Common Card, Not Exclusive
...
"HMMMM… I am not impressed." Still, he equipped the item.
One thing caught his eye, however.
Hinata had only three equipment slots, and Haruki had four equipment slots. He quickly found that everyone else had only three slots, he was the only one with one extra slot.
"HMMMMMMMMM ..."
A knowing Monalisa's smile appeared on his face. 'While Hinata has already used two-thirds of his ability to equip, I still have half, even with the Fox Mask and the Skill Card! That's a hell of an advantage!'
Haruki then concluded that he needed to increase his INTELLIGENCE in the status. Yes, he would accept Takashi's help to better understand the system. But he couldn't just stop and look at all the possibilities now. Then he looked at his teammates and shrugged.
"I didn't find the awards so exciting, but that was just the first mission."
"At least you got something," said Daisuke, sighing.
On the screen, there was a bright message:
"THE AVIDITÉ ET TEMPTATION CASINO IS NOW OPEN ON THE THIRD DECK. A SURPRISE AWAITS YOU! GOOD LUCK!"
A closing song was accompanied by the gradual turning off of the lights, and the holograms also gradually disappeared.
"Luckily, the food stayed," Hinata grabbed a canape and a glass of prosecco. Haruki only then repaired the student's bruised and slightly swollen face and quickly checked Hinata's status: 90% Hit Points.
'Ufa! I don't think it's anything serious! I'm being an idiot. He went to defend me and I wanted to usurp his prize. He had to put up with Miyu-chan for well over 10 minutes…'
Then Haruki felt something climbing his back! He squirmed, not knowing what was going on!
"OH! Mimi has been forgotten! " Hinata exclaimed, taking the cat from haruki's back. Haruki took the hooded puppy from the student's hands.
"Uhn, so your new owner forgot you like you were a purse or a cell phone?" He looked into the kitten's innocent eyes.
"Don't judge her like that, she's not used to it yet. Furthermore, for her, Mimi is as virtual as we are!" Hinata defended her, and the others shook their heads, nodding.
"Okay, what I want to see now is 'Avidité et Tentation Casino'. Haruki-san, let's go to the casino, "Takashi invited him, changing the subject.
"Takashi-san, I would love to. I was telling Saito-senpai that I'm tired, but I think it's because my shoe is new and it's hurting my foot. I will exchange it for something more comfortable and join you in a little while. I'm also going to take Mimi to the room and get him a place to sleep. But enjoy, and earn a lot of diamonds, in my absence."
It was a lie, of course, but he didn't just mean that he wouldn't come back. It would be much more difficult to get rid of them.
Anyway, the singer went to his suite to enjoy what was real in all that lie they were living.
